Mei Lanfang's tour in the United States is not over yet. He performed from New York, Chicago, San Francisco and other cities all the way to Los Angeles. While performing, Mei Lanfang was also awarded a doctorate in literature by Pomona University and the University of Southern California.
Mei Lanfang even became good friends with Hollywood's "Three Great Movie Masters" Chaplin, Fairbanks and Pickford.
The Los Angeles Times commented on Peking Opera: "Chinese drama is not about realistic reality, but about artistic truth. It is a regular performance method that is deeper than the reality of life."
Mei Lanfang performed in Los Angeles for more than ten consecutive shows, and the performances were all sold out. He was not affected by the economic crisis at all. He was also invited to give lectures at the University of Southern California to talk about acting skills and drama art, and won high praise from the teachers and students of Southern California.
Lan Fang has given talks, lectures and lectures at seven universities in the United States.
On this day, Mei Lanfang was in Chaplin's villa, discussing the clown in Peking Opera.
Mei Lanfang said: "In the jargon of the Chinese opera world, there is no drama without ugliness. Harlequins are divided into Wen Chou and Wu Chou. Wen Chou is mainly about recitation and workmanship, and Wu Chou is mainly about action. To put it bluntly, it is the use of lines and
Exaggerated performance of movements, thereby achieving special dramatic effects."
After the translator relayed the story, Chaplin nodded and said: "This is very similar to Western comedy."
Mei Lanfang said: "Chinese drama pays great attention to the heat. Take Harlequin as an example. If the heat is not enough, people will not laugh. If the heat is too high, it will inevitably make people laugh."
"Yes, the same is true for humorous plays," Chaplin said. "If you don't use enough force, it will be difficult to impress the audience. If you use too much force, it will make people feel embarrassed."
After discussing clowns and humorous plays, the two talked about acting. Mei Lanfang said that when an actor stands on the stage, it is another life. Chaplin agreed with this, saying that this is a full commitment to the performance role.
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After chatting until noon, Mei Lanfang had lunch at Chaplin's house, and the two met to go to the theater to watch a stage play.
Tickets for stage plays are much more expensive than movie tickets. In the economic downturn, the number of audiences is getting smaller and smaller. Only the top performances on Broadway are still prosperous.
After watching the performance, Mei Lanfang returned to the hotel with her translator. When they met, Zhang Pengchun said: "Heming, Mr. Zhou has published a new book again."
"Oh? Is "The Dog Officer" also released in the United States?" Mei Lanfang sat down and asked.
"It's not "The Dog Officer", it's "Titanic", a science fiction love tragedy." Zhang Pengchun took out a brand new novel and smiled.
Zhang Pengchun made a great contribution to Mei Lanfang's US tour. He served as the artistic director of Mei Lanfang Troupe. According to the aesthetic needs of Americans, he suggested that Mei Lanfang make appropriate changes to the repertoire. This change was very successful and aroused great enthusiasm from American audiences.
Interested, if it is performed according to the original Peking Opera, the effect may be greatly reduced.
Mei Lanfang took it over and took a look and found that it was in English. He could only say to the translator: "Zhong Xiaoyou, can you read it for me?"
"Of course." The translator, named Zhong Pengfei, is an international student at the University of Southern California. He picked up the novel and started reading it in Chinese on the spot.
Mei Lanfang listened to the novel with his eyes closed. He was surprised by the future plot at the beginning, but after the novel got to the point, Mei Lanfang quickly became immersed in the love story.
When Zhou Hexuan wrote novels, he expanded various supporting characters. Characters such as old gentlemen, musicians, captains, nouveau riche wives, etc. were described in more vivid and vivid descriptions. Especially the fat nouveau rich woman, she can be called a funny person.
, her words and deeds every time she appears make people laugh. She is rude, simple, straightforward, and kind, and her character is very lovable.
What touched Mei Lanfang the most was that while the passengers and crew were busy escaping, the musicians on the ship played music tremblingly. When they learned that there were no lifeboats, they changed from fear and worry to calmness, and leisurely performed the last collaborative performance in their lives.
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After dinner, the translator continued reading until 11 o'clock in the evening. The next morning, Mei Lanfang continued to listen to the story and did not finish telling it until mid-afternoon.
Mei Lanfang said: "Although the story takes place in the West, it is so gripping that Chinese people are also deeply moved by it."
Zhang Pengchun is a drama expert. He said: "After reading "Titanic", I had a bold idea. This story can be adapted into a stage play!"
Mei Lanfang joked: "It can also be changed into a Peking Opera performance."
Pengchun Chang said seriously: "I plan to cooperate with Broadway and turn this play into an opera or drama. It will definitely be very popular."
In fact, Pengchun Chang was not the only one to have this idea. Eugene O'Neill, the founder of American national drama and future Nobel Prize winner for literature, also had the idea of adapting "Titanic" into a stage play.
Before O'Neill, America only had theater; after O'Neill, America only had drama.
This is what American critics say about Eugene O'Neill.
O'Neill has been wandering when he was young. He has been to South America and Africa. He has been a gold digger, a sailor, a clerk and an unemployed vagrant. After returning to the United States, he also worked as an extra. At the age of 26, he went to Harvard University to audit a drama skills course.
Just six months ago, 41-year-old O'Neal finally received an honorary doctorate from Yale University.
O'Neill had been a sailor for several years, and his early dramas were all about sailing life. After reading "Titanic", O'Neill once again had the urge to create sailing dramas, and he even went to China to live in the United States.
The embassy and Michael Lauer Book Company hope to contact Zhou Hexuan to obtain the drama adaptation rights of this novel.
Mike had already acquired Zhou Hexuan's Xu Ke, who had full authority to represent all copyright matters for "Titanic" in the United States. The two parties quickly reached a cooperation agreement. O'Neill spent US$1,000 to obtain the drama adaptation rights, and every subsequent performance of the play
, Zhou Hexuan will share 1% of the commercial performance income, and this money will be deducted from O'Neal's screenwriting remuneration.
Eugene O'Neill publicly commented: "Titanic is one of the most classic and touching love novels of the 20th century."
Sinclair Lewis, an American crazy fan of Zhou Hexuan and the first American Nobel Prize winner in literature. The writer Sinclair Lewis, who nominated Zhou Hexuan as a candidate for the Nobel Prize in Literature last year, is also voluntarily helping to promote "Titanic". He wrote in the New York Times
mentioned in the literature column: "I recently discovered an interesting work. It is Mr. Zhou Hexuan's first Western novel. It makes people believe that the purity of love will become a great and classic love work."
In fact, this novel has already become popular in the United States without Sinclair Lewis's recommendation.
Mike used the gimmick of "winner of the Goncourt Prize for Literature" and "candidate for the Nobel Prize in Literature" to promote "Titanic" crazily. Americans are deeply impressed by Zhou Hexuan. "The Rise of the Great Powers" has long been sold like crazy, and "Titan"
As soon as "Nick" came out, many old readers immediately bought it.
Due to the sluggish environment in the U.S. book market, "Titanic" only sold more than 3,000 copies in its first week. But as the novel's reputation grew, more and more Americans began to talk about the love between Jack and Rose.
The story of the Titanic hitting an iceberg.
As a result, by the second week, the new sales of the novel soared to more than 8,000 copies, and attracted widespread attention from the industry and newspapers.
The New York Times took a unique approach and suddenly began to report information about the sunken ship in the third week after the novel was released.
Only then did American readers know that "Titanic" was not a fabrication. This ship actually existed in history, and it did hit an iceberg on its maiden voyage and was killed. The captain and other characters in the book used their real names.
The process of the shipwreck also followed reality.
The reports of these news made people more interested in the novel, and even began to discuss whether the hero and heroine and the heart of the ocean really existed.
Finally, the "Washington Daily News" also published an article analyzing the "Heart of the Ocean" in the novel, which should be the legendary "Blue Diamond of Doom." This diamond was discovered in India in 1642 and became an accessory for the King of France.
However, the strange thing is that the jeweler who presented the diamond to the king eventually became penniless and was bitten to death by a wild dog during another treasure hunt. The first owner of the diamond, King Louis XV of France, only wore
This diamond was infected with smallpox and died. Louis XVI, who succeeded to the throne, gave the diamond to the queen to wear, so Louis XVI and the queen were also beheaded. The next owner of the diamond was Princess Lamberna.
While wearing the diamond cup, he was also killed during the French Revolution.
Afterwards, the diamond was lost to the public, and a British banker named it "Hope". As a result, the banker went bankrupt, divorced, and died of poverty and illness. Later, Sultan Hamid II of Turkey became the new owner of the diamond, and the car he was riding in fell off a cliff.
, the whole family was killed together. The blue diamond was obtained by the Sultan's crony Zubide, but Zubide was also executed.
The diamond was eventually owned by McClain, the head of the Washington Post in the United States. In the second year after Mrs. McClain wore the diamond, her son died in a car accident, her husband died immediately, and her daughter also died from an overdose of sleeping pills. Subsequently, the "Blue Doom Diamond" named Hope
There is no news about "Drill". This happened a year before the Titanic hit the iceberg.
As soon as this news report came out, the whole United States was in an uproar. There was such a weird thing!
The last owner of the diamond, Mrs. McClain, stood up and said that the "Star of Hope" blue diamond was still in her jewelry box and had not been sold to anyone.
Although some people involved clarified that the "Star of Hope" is not the "Heart of the Ocean" in the novel, it proved the existence of the Blue Diamond of Doom from another angle. People are even more crazy about this, and the whole society is exploring "Titanic"
Hidden secrets, various real or fictitious stories emerge one after another.
In fact, an American woman actually came out and said that she was the surviving Rose.
Once this craze was stirred up, the sales of "Titanic" skyrocketed, and even Hollywood film companies became interested in turning the novel into a movie.